1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a high-power bussing connection system for battery packs.
2. Disclosure of Related Art
A conventional battery pack includes a plurality of battery modules having terminal assemblies disposed at either end of each module. Connections between the battery modules are established by routing cables or wires between the terminal assemblies and by fastening the cables or wires to the terminal assemblies using threaded fasteners, ring terminals or similar fastening devices. The large scale use of individual cables, wires, and fasteners requires a significant amount of assembly time and adds a significant amount of cost to the battery pack Moreover, assembly of the battery pack is relatively unreliable because the electrical connections made with the individual cables, wires, and fasteners are heavily dependent upon human assembly. Finally, the individual cables, wires and fasteners also require a relatively large amount of space in the battery pack and make servicing of the battery pack difficult.
Conventional battery packs have additional drawbacks as well. First, vibration often causes relatively large amounts of movement and stress on the individual battery modules within conventional battery packs. Second, relatively large stacking tolerances are often developed in conventional battery packs as the individual modules are assembled within the battery packs.
There is thus a need for a battery pack that will minimize or eliminate one or more of the above-mentioned deficiencies.
The present invention provides an improved battery pack.
A battery pack in accordance with the present invention may include at least first and second battery modules each having respective first and second male-type power terminals extending therefrom. For example, in one embodiment, the first terminal of a battery module may correspond to a positive (+) polarity output voltage while the second terminal of the battery module may correspond to a negative (xe2x88x92) polarity output voltage. In accordance with the invention; the battery pack includes a female-type conductive interface having a body portion defining a first opening configured to receive the first terminal of the first battery module and a second opening configured to receive the second terminal of the second battery module (e.g., a positive-to-negative series connection, in one embodiment) wherein the conductive interface electrically couples the first and second terminals of the first and second battery modules forming a series connection.
A battery pack in accordance with the present invention represents a significant improvement relative to conventional battery packs. The inventive battery pack eliminates the need for the large number of wires, cables, and fasteners found in conventional battery packs, thereby making assembly and servicing of inventive battery pack easier and reducing the cost and space requirements of such a battery pack.
A battery pack in accordance with the present invention may also preferably include a buss terminal holder configured to receive the conductive interface. The buss terminal holder may also include means for: (i) aligning, and restricting movement of, the first and second battery modules; (ii) positioning the terminals extending from the first and second battery modules; (iii) coupling the buss terminal holder to other buss terminal holders within the battery pack; and (iv) routing individual wires within the battery pack.
The use of the buss terminal holder within the inventive battery pack results in additional improvements relative to conventional battery packs. The buss terminal holder allows the battery modules within the battery pack to be accurately positioned and secured, thereby minimizing movement and stress on the modules resulting from vibration of the battery pack as well as accommodating tolerance stackups during assembly of the battery pack (i.e., xe2x80x9csnap-inxe2x80x9d assembly is possible, substantially reducing assembly labor). In addition, the buss terminal holder includes a plurality of cavities configured to receive the respective conductive interfaces. The cavities are sized to permit a predetermined amount of xe2x80x9cfloatxe2x80x9d of the conductive interfaces, alleviating or relaxing the otherwise adverse effect of dimensional stack-up tolerance variations.
These and other advantages of this invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings illustrating features of this invention by way of example.